Unto Fridrikr Garnet and the commenting heralds of AEthelmearc, warmest greetings, especially given the unseasonable weather, from Cadell Silver Alce. Herein, please find the Silver Alce Commenting Group commentary on AE125, dated March 2, 2010. I was assisted in the creation of this letter by Kieran MacRae, Odriana vander Brugghe, and Isabel de Fleur.

Unless otherwise specified, we found all name documentation to be accurate and sufficient, and all names and armory to be free of conflict and style problems.

4. Brada {AE}thelward

The latest reference we could find for “Brada” was 825. The same reference lists “Brand” as being from 1053-1062. However, we believe this to be a significant enough change to both spelling and pronunciation that it would qualify as a major change, which the submitter has disallowed. If Garnet disagrees, then we recommend “Brand {AE}thelward” as an authentic version of the name. We believe {AE}thelward to be a reasonably authentic spelling variant given the examples cited in the documentation.

6. Gaius Sergius Vettius – Device

The emblazon as shown does not match the blazon as written. The blazon as written seems to be for entry #7. Without the correct blazon, we cannot evaluate this device; it must be pended until the correct blazon is supplied.

8. Huon Damebrigge – Name and Device

The closest given name we could find in the submitter's requested period of authenticity was “Huet,” a variation of “Hugo” cited to 1381 in the Ormskirk Parish Poll Tax of 1381 (http://my.stratos.net/~bmscott/Ormskirk_1381.html <http://my.stratos.net/%7Ebmscott/Ormskirk_1381.html>). We believe this would constitute a major change, as it changes half of the letters (2 of 4) in the name, and significantly changes the pronunciation of half of the syllables (1 of 2). Damebrigge, as the submitter's registered name, is grandfathered to him, but we were unable to find period attestation of that spelling of the suffix, and the period version that was submitted (“-brugg”) is in German, which would constitute a language change, which is a major change.

11. Padraig na F{e'}as{o'}ige Ua C{e'}ileachair – Name

The two parts of the byname differ by 534 years. This constitutes at the very least one step from period practice; we cannot recall if that span of time between two parts of a single name element (in this case, a compound byname) renders the name returnable.

12. Randal of Berwick

We were unable to find authentic forms of the given name specifically from the Northumbria area. Temporally consistent forms from nearby areas include “Randle” (Cheshire 1290, from Withycombe sn. Randal), “Ran” and “Ranulph” (Lincolnshire 1332, from the 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/GivenMasculineFreq.html) <http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/GivenMasculineFreq.html>. <http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/GivenMasculineFreq.html>Mills (s.n. Berwick) cites "Berewykbasket" in 1321 and "Berewyk Sancti Leonardi" in 1291; thus we are confident that "Berewyk" is an authentic 14th-century spelling of what is now "Berwick." We therefore recommend "Randle de Berewyk" as the closest authentic version of the submitted name that we could find.

15. Solveig Throndardottir – Accademia Minerva

We could find no evidence of Italian /Accademia/ named for mythological or religious figures. The examples cited include “Accademia dei Sollevati” (which translates in modern Italian as “Academy of the Raised Ones” according to http://babelfish.altavista.com), “Accademia Pomponiana” (an academy named for Giulio Pomponio Leto, its founder) and “Accademia Platonica” (founded by Marsilio Ficino, “created to study the works of Plato and his followers” according to the Scholarly Studies Project referenced in the supplied documentation. None of the examples cited justify the idea of an /Accademia/ named for a Goddess from Roman mythology. Without this justification, we cannot support the registration of this submission.

17. Willehalm B{a:}renj{a:}ger – Name

Bahlow, s.n. Barensteker, cites “Barensteker” (“bear-killer”) in Stralsburg in 1307. Other similar names, using the “B{a:}ren-” prototheme, are also listed as header forms in Bahlow (“B{a:}r(e)nklau,” “B{a:}renreiter”), but no dates are listed. Bahlow, s.n. Jager, lists several compound forms using “-j{a:}ger” as a deuterotheme, including Gambsj{a:}ger, Hasenj{a:}ger and H{u:}hnerj{a:}ger, but no dates are listed for any of these forms. Given this language pattern, we are reasonably certain, though not completely, that “Barenj{a:}ger” would be an authentic German surname in the early 14^th century.

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Cadell Silver Alce